Page 25 of Beck and Call

I gulped.

"Yikes, I'm scaring you before you've even started. Just, hang in there, okay? I know HR is working to get him another secretary, who will be your assistant of sorts. I'm sure it'll all go smoothly once someone is hired."

Another nod from me. At this point I was in danger of resembling a bobble head toy. "Thank you, Sabrina. I'm sure Mr. Anderson and I will be fine. Don't worry."

She shot me a serious look. "Oh, I worry. If no one is hired, he turns to me."

I entered my office and looked around. The space was rather Spartan, but it suited me fine. Honestly, it was nearly the same size as my previous apartment. There was a rather large desk in the middle of the room and two soft leather chairs on the other side. The executive chair was real leather and soft to the touch. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined one wall, with stunning views of the Sound. The sky was hazy, as it often was in late fall, but come summer I imagined I'd be able to see some of the islands from there.

The door between my office and Beckett's opened, and he stepped into my space. He was as dapper as ever in a charcoal suit, cut to his exact measurements. His shirt was a deep royal blue, making his eyes even more hypnotic.

No words were spoken for several seconds. If he wanted to treat me as any other employee, I would play along. There was no way he'd be getting an apology from me for moving me out of my apartment without my permission.

I grabbed my laptop, a legal pad, and a pen. Jana had given me an old leather satchel, which I used to store all the items I could imagine needing during the meeting. I'd already put the files from the car inside the bag. Once I was prepared, I stepped out from behind my desk.

"I'm going to go check in with Sabrina and see that everything has been set up for your first meeting."

His jaw clenched, but he remained quiet. I could feel his stare as I walked away. I'd made note of the conference room, located close to the elevators. Sabrina walked back in that direction when she left me at my office, and I was hoping she was going to her own. Halfway down the hallway I found her name above an open door and rapped lightly on the door frame.

"I was hoping you'd have a minute to help me make sure the conference room is set up and ready for the executive meeting this morning."

"Perfect timing." She hung up the phone I hadn't noticed her holding. "That was Charlie at the security desk. The bagels and coffee I put in an order for last week is on its way up. Usually, the secretaries handle setting up the conference room, but Mrs. Jenkins, Mr. Greyson's secretary, is new, and Mr. Anderson's quit last week. So we are going to have to make sure the poor dear doesn't quit too. She's in her fifties, and sweet as pie, but Mr. Anderson terrifies her."

"I didn't realize he had such a reputation," I commented.

"I'm only telling you this in the hopes you last longer than his last three secretaries–"

"Secretaries? Not assistants?" I interrupted.

"He hasn't had an executive assistant since I was first hired here almost two years ago."

"That's because he prefers to promote his secretaries to the assistant position, but none of them has made it past the probationary period," a deep voice replied from the doorway.

Sabrina smiled warmly at the man filling the doorway. His hazel eyes were warm and set me at ease. He strode over to where I sat and offered me his hand. When I took it, he brought it up to his lips and lightly kissed my knuckles. Usually I found the gesture smarmy, but he brought back gentility to the gesture I imagined knights in the medieval ages had mastered.

"You must be Evelyn. I'm Colter Greyson, CFO and Beckett's best friend. You're even more beautiful than I'd heard." His knuckles brushed across the same spot his lips had touched.

"Keep your hands off my assistant," Beckett growled as he entered the room.

He spared me an indifferent look and took his place at the head of the table. I was determined to match his indifference and returned my attention to my computer. The other spots filled up rapidly as Anderson Global executives took their seats.

The meeting was a frenzy of note taking and responding to messages from Beckett's requests for information from our previous meetings with the German executives. When the meeting broke, Beckett exited with Colter and didn't spare me a backward glance.

Sabrina looked where they'd left and back at me. "Do you have lunch plans?"

I paused, not sure what to say. I didn't want to turn her down, because I could use more friends in my life. However, I hadn't been paid yet and only had a few dozen dollars to my name. Honesty was probably the best option. "I would love to do lunch, but I'm flat broke until I get paid."

She pulled out a company card. "Mr. Greyson told me to help you feel welcome and to make sure you don't quit before the end of the day. Why would you quit on your first day?"

"It isn't my first day. I went with Mr. Anderson to Berlin."

Her brow creased. "Really? Then why does it seem like you two have never spoken?"

I shrugged. Honesty, it turned out, wasn't the best policy for every question. "I have no idea why he thinks I would quit today." I looked at the clock on the wall. "It's about eleven-thirty now. Let me get my things put away in my office. We can go in a half an hour. Will that work?"

"I'll meet you by the elevators at noon," she agreed.

Back in my office I set about putting my things away. The door between our offices opened and Beckett strolled through the door.

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